Control device



Dec. 23, 1930. H. 1., 1 FRANK 1,786,010

CONTROL DEVI CE Filed Oct. 19, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet l NLS n1 INVENTOR 2mmwam? ATTORNEY Dei;e 23', 1930.. H, 1 1 FRANK 1,786,616

CONTROL DEVICE Filed Oct. 19, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY 3M M4,

Au ATToRNo/ Dec. 23, 1930.

H. J, L.. FRANK 1,786,010

CONTROL DEVICE Filed Oci. 19, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 O nl INVENTOR d e ATTORNEY Dec. 23, 1930. 'H J, 1 FRANK 1,786,010

CONTROL DEVICE Filed Oct. 19, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 n INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 23, 1930 lUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRISON J. L. FRANK, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO BULLDOG ELECTRIC PRODUCTS COMPANY, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA CONTROL DEVICE Application iled October 19, 1925. Serial No. 63,375.

The present invention relates to controls for electrical or other devices and specifically to light controls for theaters and the like.

Among the objects of the invention is to obtain regulation of lights or other devices which shall have an absolute value as far as the control device is concerned and can, therefore, be duplicated at any time.

Another object is the simultaneous control of any number of sets of lights or devices,

either increasing or diminishing or some in-Y creasing and some diminishing or some changing and others remaining steady.

Another oblect 1s a multiple control, op-

erable by a master7 operating device, in

' skilled in the art upon reference to the following description and claims, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a complete control unit showing two positions thereof.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of two units of the pre-setting and operating mechanism for 0perating the rheostats.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the sainefrom the right end of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of one of the units of Fig. 3 with parts in section.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are details of the construction.

Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively an elevation and a partly sectional plan view of a modified form of a part of the control.

In the drawings, the device constituting a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated as of two parts, a rheostat 2O and a pre-setting andoperating mechanism 35, with suitable connections therebetween.

The rheostat 20 is supported in a suitable frame 21 and connected with electric leads 22 through a suitable switch 23. The leads from the rheostat are indicated conventionally at 34. as leading to a group or bank of lights 25. A second group of lights is indicated and these will be controlled by a second rheostat 20. It is intended to be indicated by this that there will be as many rheostats as there are groups of lights or single lights which it is desirable or necessary to control separately, and, while only two control units are being shown and described, the actual number which will be used in a practical commercial installation may be many times this, depending upon the particular grouping of the lights.

Each rheostat 20 is operated by means of a rod 27 carrying a sprocket chain 28 secured at both ends to the rod and looped about the shaft 29 of the rheostat so that longitudinal movement of t-he rod 27 will turn the rheostat. The rod 27 is operated by a bar 30 mounted to swing or oscillate about a shaft 31 secured to the frame of the pre-setting device 35 and this bar 30 is in turn operated by two links 32 and 33 connected to two discs 40 and 4l' forming part of the pre-setting and operating A device 35.'

The pre-setting and operating device 35, hereinafter called the preset, is shown more clearly in Figs. 2 to 7, of which Fig. 4 shows an enlarged sectional view.

In the figures, particularly Figs. 2 and 3, it will be noted that both of the presets 35 are mounted on a single shaft 43 towhich is fixed an operating levery 44. This lever 44 is used to operate all of the presets -35 which constitute the complete control installation for the lighting system. y

Each preset 35 is composed of a hub 45 (see Fig. 4) fixed to the shaft 43, which hub carries fixed to it a disc 46 notched about a portion of its periphery to engage a latch 47 fixed to a cam plate 48.A This cam plate 48 is loosely mounted on the hub 45 close to the inner side of disc 46. On the outer side of disc 46, mounted on hub 45, is a disc 41 above referred to.

At the other end of hub 45 is loosely mounted a second notched disc 50, provided with a rearwardly extending arm 50a having a hole through which extends shaft 31, thus fixing the disc 5() against turning. The notches of disc 50 are engaged by a latch 51 carried on a second cam plate 52 lying close to the inner side of disc 50, and on the outer side of disc 50 is the disc 40 above referred to. All of the discs and plates mentioned are loose on hub 45 except disc 46.

Also loose on shaft 43 adjacent the ends of hub 45 is a yoke 55 provided with a lever 56 integrally connected thereto. This yoke embraces the discs and plates mentioned and carries in its head, adjacent the edges of the discs, means for mechanically connecting the parts in operating relations, so that, when the preset has been suitably adjusted or set, operation of lever 44 will actuate the rheostat 20 to produce the desired brightening or dimming of its particular light or bank of lights.

This operating connection is as follows.

Each of the discs 40 and 41 is provided with a notch 60 adapted to engage one end of a double latch 61 carried in the head of the yoke 55. This latch 61 is mounted on a short shaft 62 and may be rocked by a hand lever 63, being provided with a spring 64, which tends to cause engagement of the latch with one or the other of the notches. It will be noted (see Fig. 4) that latch 61 has a small hump 61a over which the spring 64 rides when the latch is moved. This hump co-acting with the spring tends to lock the latch into engagement with a notch 60.

In addition to latch 61, the yoke head also carries a second latch 65 capable of being rocked to any one of the three positions indicated in Fig. 4 at 65, 65a-and 655, being mounted on a short shaft 66 provided with a setting lever 67 This latch may be retained in its set position by a spring 68 adapted to drop into one of three notches on the rear surface of the latch. Further, this latch 65 is mounted in the end of an arm 70 capable of being swung vertically, as best vindicated in Fig. 5, a'nd s pringpressed downwardly by means of spring 71.

Latch 65 is adapted to engage a notch 72 in cam plate 48 which is coupled with 46 by means of latch 47, so that the operating train from lever 44 to rod 27, and, therefore, the rheostat 20, is as follows.

The lever 44 in its movement carries with it hub 45 and disc 46. The latter carries its coupled cam plate 48 and, through notch 72 and latch 65, the yoke 55. The yoke 55, through latch 61, carries, say, disc 40, to which is secured link 32, which rocks bar 30 and hence moves the rheostat. It should be noted that, through the agency of bar 30, discs 40 and 41 always move ,simultaneously but in opposite directions, and that, only in one case, which will be described presently, is any operation of the rheastat effected during a return stroke of lever 44. The latter is arranged to swing about 90 degrees from a horizontal rest position to a vertical stop position, and, with one exception, all its work is done on the up stroke.

So far there has been described only the operating connection between lever 44 and the rheostat 20. The functions of the device include much more than this.- The device is intended to permit and does permit the simultaneous carrying out of a variety of functions through the operation of a single lever.

As stated above, the shaft 43 may have mounted upon it a large number of presets and it is possible to so adjust these that certain banks of lights may be turned on full bright, others turned black out, others partially turned on, others dimmed, sonic changed from one intermediate point to another intermediate point, either up or down, some not affected, and some turned on and off, or 0E and on, all with one stroke up and back of lever 44.

Any of the functions may be provided for by properly setting the latches 61 and 65 and the cam plates 48 and 52.

The operation of latch 61 has been described. Tlie latch 65 and cam plates act as follows.

Cam plate 48 may be termed the pick-up cam plate. It consists of a plate having on one side the latch 47 serving to position it relative to disc 46. At another and properly located part of the edge of the plate it is provided with a laterally extending peripheralcam 73 in the surface of which is notch 72, which extends into the edge 74 of the plate next to cam 73. It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the latch 65 in position 656, or positive position, engages the entire notch, while, in position 65a, called the partial position, it engages only that part of the notch in cam 73, and, in position 65, or independent position, it does not engage the notch at all. O peration of these parts will be described later.

Cam plate 52 carries on its edge the latch 51 by means of which it is fixed relative to disc 50, and has on another ortion of its edge a cam 75 with a sloping ace 76. This is the releasino cam.

The operation of the device to accomplish several of the possible functions is as follows.

A) Assuming that all of the lightsare'oif and that all 0f the yokes 55 of the presets are in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and that latches 47 and 51 are in their lowest position, it is desired to turn on one light or group of lights and leave the others unaftfected. This oeration may be accomplished in. two ways. ne way is to engage latch 61 with the notch in disc 40 which is at its lowest position, then move latch 65 to position 65, then operate yoke 55 by means of lever 56. This setting releases the particular preset from shaft 43 and hence from lever 44. Another way of operating a single rheostat to full bright position from black out position Cil is to set the latch 51 in its highest position, leaving latch 47 in its lowest position, set latch 61 to engage disc 40, set latch 65 in position 65a, and operate lever 44. This causes the yoke to carry disc 40 and hence the rod 27 to its full bright p-osition, whereupon the part 80 of the arm 70 supporting latch 65 will ride up the face 76 of cam 75 and lift the latch 65 from notch 72 in cam 73, which notch it has engaged at its lowest position, thereby disconnecting yoke 55 from further movement. This latter operation is used where several rheostats are to be operated without affecting the others. Those not desired to be moved will have latches 51 and 47 in their lowest positions and latch 65 in position 65.

(B) Assuming some of the groups of lights to be full bright and it is desired to turn these to black out without moving the others, and also assuming that all of the yokes 55 are in their lowest position. The latches are all set as before except that latch 61 is turned to engage the notch in disc 41. Movement of lever 44 on its up stroke will cause the same action as in (A) but upon disc 41, thereby reversing the movement of the rheostat.

(C) In this case it is desired to turn a group of lights on partially, say one-third on. The yokes being down, latch 61 is set to engage disc 40, latch 65 set to position 65a, latch 47 left at its lowest position and latch 51 raised to the one-third position. The lever 44 is then moved upward, whereupon the disc 40, and therefore the rheostat, will be moved until the part 80 of arm 7 0 meets the face 76 of cam 75 and lifts latch 65 out of notch 72. Cam 75 being one-third up, the lights are accordingly lighted one-third.

(D) A group of lights being partly on, say one-fourth, it is desired to turn them on to three-fourths. In this case the latches are set as in (C) except that latch 51 is moved up to the three-fourths position, yoke 55 being in its lowest position. Movement of lever 44 then carries disc 46, cam 73 and yoke 55 with it until it reaches the position of notch 60 in disc 40, whereupon latch 61 drops into this notch and the disc 40 is carried along till cam 75 releases latch 65 from cam 73. This operation does not occur until lever. 44 has moved through'part of its stroke. If it is desired to have the operation start with the movement of lever 44, it is necessary to move latch 47 up to the previous position of latch 51. If this is done, the operation is coincident with the iirst part of the stroke of lever 44. Use of this particular operation permits what might be termed staggering the lights, that is, in a single stroke of lever 44, some lights may be brightened, or dimmed, before others.

There are many other operations which can be accomplished by the device, but .it is no t thought necessary to describe them 1n detail as they will readily occur to one familiar with the construction and operation of the machine.

Further, in order that any given value or setting of the lights controlled by this device may be repeated, scales 8() may be lixed alongside of each of the latches 47 and 51 and the latter provided with pointers 81 extending over the scales. It is desirable that the scale represent the number of controls on the rheostat 20 and that the notches in the edges of discs 46 and 50 correspond thereto.

Figs. 8 and 9 show a modification of those parts ot' the device directly connected to the rheostats. In these views, dise 140 corresponds to disc 40 d disc 141 corresponds to disc 41, and these, 140 and 141, are mounted revolubly on shaft 31. They are also provided with bevel gear teeth 142 about a portion of their peripheries to engage a bevel gear 143 fixed upon an arm 144 secured in any suitable manner to the frame of the machine. One of the discs 14() or 142 will also have pivoted to it the rod 27 extending to and operating the rheostat. It is, of course, to be understood that discs 140 and 141 will be substituted for discs 40 and 41.

f While the device has been described with reference to the control through rheostats of lights or other electrical devices. it is equally adapted to the operation of other than electrical devices by substituting for the rheostats any suitable linkage or lever connection with the rods 27 or discs 40 and 41.

Having now described the invention and the preferred form of embodiment thereof, itis to be understood that changes may be made from the specific details herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the claims which follow.

Claims:

1. A control device for a rheostat comprising a member movable to decrease the rheostat resistance, a membermovable to increase the rheostat resistance, a lever for moving a pre-selected one of said members.l means to determine at what point in the operation of the lever said pre-selected member begins its movement, and means to determine at what point in the operation ot .the lever said member shall stop.

2. In combination. a rheostat, a control device therefor including a pair of members adapted to actuate said rheostat in opposite directions, a separate lever for actuating one of said members, an adjustable member for connecting said lever to said actuated member, a second adjustable member to disconnect said actuated member from said lever, and a device for selecting which of said first mentioned members shall be actuated.

3. A control device including a pair of rotatable plates adapted to rotate in opposite directions, a separate lever for rotating a pre-selected one of said plates, a radially adjustable member for connecting said lever to said rotated plate, and a second radially adjustable member for disconnecting said rotated plate from said lever.

4. In combination, a rheostat .and a control device therefor including a rotatable shaft, a lever for rotating the latter, a pair of discs mounted on said shaft, the first of which is fixed to the shaft and the second of which is fixed against rotation, a second pair of discs adjacent the first pair and loosely mounted on said shaft, said second pair operatively connected to the rheostat, a pair of cam plates also adjacentthe first pair and loosely mounted on said shaft, one of said cam plates being radially adjustable With relation to the first of the first pair of discs and the other cam plate being radially adjustable with respect to the second of said first pair, and a yoke member loosely mounted on the shaft and embracing all of said plates, said yoke member carrying a latch adapted to engage either of said second pair of discs and a latch adapted to engage said pair of cam plates whereby said shaft may be connected to and disconnected from the disc engaged by said first latch.

5. A control device comprising a pair of oppositely movable members, means for engaging and moving a pre-selected one of said members, and means to determine the time and duration of the engagement.

6. In combination, a rheostat, a control device therefor including a pair of rotatable plates adapted to actuate said rheostat in opposite dlrections', a separate lever for rotating a pre-selected one `of said plates, a radially adjustable member for connecting said lever to said rotated plate, and a second radially adjustable member for disconnecting said rotated plate from said lever.

7. A multiple control device for a plurality of rheostats, comprising a plurality of control units, a single shaft upon which all of the units are mounted, and an operating lever for said shaft, each of said units including selective mechanism for automatically connecting it to and disconnecting it from said shaft at predetermined points of the movement of the said shaft, each of the units further including a member movable to increase the resistance of the rheostat' to which it is operatively connected, amember movable to decrease the resistance of the rheostat to which it is operatively connected, and means, controllable by the operator, for connecting one or the other of the members to said shaft, as desired.

8. In combination, a plurality of rheostats, a shaft, a plurality of control units and a lever forv operating said shaft, each unit including a member movable to increase the resistance of the rheostat to which it is operatively connected, a member movable to decrease the resistance of the rheostat and presettable means for operatively connecting one or the other of the members to the shaft, as desired, each unit further being provided With presettable selective mechanism for automatically connecting it to and disconnecting it from said shaft at predetermined points of the latter.

9. In combination, a plurality of rheostats, a shaft, a plurality of control units, and a lever for operating said shaft, each unit including a member movable to increase the resistance of the rheostat to which it is operatively connected, a member movable to decrease the resistance of the rheostat and presettable means for` operatively connecting one or the other of the members to thc shaft, as desired, each unit further being provided with presettable selective mechanism for automatically connecting the previously selected member to and disconnecting it from said shaft at predetermined points of the movement of the latter.

HARRISON J. L. FRANK.

lll) 

